Minnesota Wild might have deepest, most talented team in franchise history

Zach Parise is just one of many Minnesota Wild players who are expected to make the 2013 roster the deepest in the 12 seasons of the franchise. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)

With the additions of Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley to the group of skaters taking part in informal Wild workouts Wednesday, Jan. 9, coach Mike Yeo finally got a chance to see everybody who should be on his top lines when the season opens approximately Jan. 19.

The smile on Yeo's face was mirrored by the one on Heatley's.

"We're ready to rock," Heatley said.

Besides Heatley and Koivu, working out at the Xcel Energy Center in preparation for training camp have been Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Matt Cullen, Niklas Backstrom, Mikael Granlund, Jared Spurgeon, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, Marco Scandella and numerous others who are expected to make the 2013 roster the deepest in the 12 seasons of the franchise.

Forward Stephane Veilleux, known as a grinder who delivers 100 percent every night, was around during the Wild's playoff runs of 2003, '07 and '08 when Marian Gaborik, Brian Rolston, Wes Walz, Pavol Demitra, Koivu, Andrew Brunette and Pierre-Marc Bouchard led the way.

Veilleux sees similar levels of talent and depth today, a roster that appears capable of ushering the Wild into the NHL playoffs for the first time in five years.

"We're going to have a well-balanced team," he said.

Yeo is continually asked about top newcomers Parise, Suter and Granlund, but he quickly steers conversations to the expected improvement from players such as Brodziak, Spurgeon, Scandella, Tom Gilbert, Devin Setoguchi, Darroll Powe, Josh Harding and others, including a healthy Bouchard.

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"The purpose of last year was to set the table for future success," Yeo said.

This group is so talented that Brodziak, Clutterbuck and Bouchard make up the Wild's No. 3 line heading into camp. All three have played on Minnesota's No. 1 line in the past.

It's about depth, Cullen said.

"It always trickles down," he said. "I've been on some really good offensive teams before, and it always starts at the top."

Heatley arrived from his home in British Columbia and Koivu from his home in Finland on Tuesday, and they finally joined their teammates the next morning for a pre-training camp workout at the X. Almost immediately, the three linemates grabbed opportunities to huddle along the boards and talk strategy, and almost immediately their slick passing appeared cohesive.

"They're two good players, obviously," Heatley said. "All three of us are getting a feel for each other. Mikko's very easy to play with, and playing with Zach just one practice, you can tell he's very easy to figure out and very easy to play with as well."

Koivu had no problem shaking off any jet lag and settling in.

"It felt good. Obviously myself and Dany just got back," he said. "It's going to feel a little easier when we move forward."

Yeo began penciling in probable line combinations soon after Parise and Suter were signed as free agents in July.

Asked if he has spent the past weeks tweaking those pairings, he grinned.

"We haven't played any bad games since I drew it up," he said, "so I haven't had to make any changes."

The Wild, who also added forwards Zenon Konopka and Torrey Mitchell via offseason signings a few days before signing Parise and Suter, are so loaded up front that Veilleux, Matt Kassian, and Jake Dowell so far fall short of the top four lines, as does yet-to-be-signed Nick Palmieri along with Charlie Coyle, Brett Bulmer and Jason Zucker.

Yeo expects Granlund to center Bouchard and Setoguchi on his second line, while his current fourth line includes Konopka, Powe and Mitchell.

The excess numbers are good, Brodziak said.

"If you look at last year," he said, "at the end of the day, depth was the thing we lacked."

Because of injuries to Scandella and Jonas Brodin, the team is a bit thin on defense, but Scandella is not expected to be sidelined long. Brodin, out with a broken clavicle, has begun skating but remains a few weeks away from returning.

Yeo has Suter paired with Jarod Spurgeon as his top defensive pair, with Gilbert potentially lining up with Scandella. Clayton Stoner, Justin Falk and Nate Prosser also are in the mix with Stoner likely replacing Scandella if necessary.